Bill Schenley
2007-01-13 06:24:57 UTC
Ernie Kovacs Killed In Coast Car Crash
Photo:
Loading Image...
FROM: The New York Times (January 14th 1962) ~
By The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES, Calif., Jan. 13
Ernie Kovacs, comedian of the theatre, screen and
television, was killed today in a traffic accident. He
would have been 43 years old on Jan. 23.
The police said that Mr. Kovacs was killed when his
station wagon skidded across a wet pavement a half
block from the Beverly Hilton Hotel and smashed
into a power pole. The crash occurred shortly before
2 A.M. on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Los
Angeles.
Mr. Kovacs had attended a baby shower in honor of
the wife of Milton Berle, the comedian. Mr. Kovacs
and his wife, Edie Adams, actress and comedienne,
had left the party in separate cars.
Miss Adams, unaware that her husband had been in a
crash, drove on to their home in Bel Air. She learned
of her husband's death from Billy Wilder, the director,
who had been host for the party. She was given a
sedative and put to bed.
Miss Adams had gone to the party ahead of her
husband, friends said, because he had to work late.
When they left, he followed her in his car.
The coroner's office said that Mr. Kovacs had
probably died at the instant of impact, apparently of a
basal skull fracture.
Patrolman John Bettfreund, on traffic duty, told
newsmen it appeared that Mr. Kovacs "may have been
traveling faster than the posted limit in that area."
The impact was so great that the left side of the wagon
was caved in. One door on the passenger side had
been torn open.
Friends said that Mr. Kovacs had been his usual
happy-go-lucky self at the baby shower - attended by
about twenty persons.
Mr. Kovacs had been married twice. He had two
daughters, Betty, 15, and Kippie, 13, by his first wife.
In 1959, he had a daughter by Miss Adams.
Other survivors include his parents, Andrew and Mary
Kovacs, of Trenton, N.J., and a brother, Tom, also
of Trenton.
A funeral service will be held Monday.
_____________________
Ernie Kovacs had the sort of talent for which television
was invented.
He worked with equal ease and persistence in movies,
theatre, radio and writing. But he flowered on the nation's
television screens with his highly improbable and flammable
humor, the kind that used the camera as a prop and could
never be adequately described.
Despite his easy-going manner, Mr. Kovacs worked as
though some demon of comedy kept shouting, "You're on
the air!"
His mind whirred so busily with ideas so that even in
conversation a stray remark would prompt him to improvise
an outline for an entire skit on the spot.
One of the commonplace characterizations of the Kovacs
touch was "inspired." "Zany" was another. His humor
derived from ideas that did not have to be hammered home
by lengthy dialogue. For example an automobile racer eager
to drive through a flaming hoop could not get his car
started: a reader opens a copy of "Camille" and a woman is
heard coughing; a bass drummer is poised to play and his stick
melts into a kettle of sticky mush; water erupts into a room
from a picture of a dam hanging on the wall.
Such situations are typical of his giddy, almost impressionistic
wit.
The Nairobi Trio and Percy Dovetonsils were among his most
popular creations.
Did His Own Writing
On television and on radio Mr. Kovacs did all his own writing.
Recently he explained that "as soon as you hire four or five
writers, each man is trying to earn his salary."
"You end up," he said, "going in four or five directions at once."
Despite his affinity for hard and precise stagecraft, Mr. Kovacs
presented an affable and unhurried facade, devoid of the egoism
and insecurity that are often associated with comedians. A
creature of habit, he gave up chain-smoking cigarettes to start
chain-smoking cigars at the cost of about $200 a day.
Although he reached his heights in creativity, he was a polished
performer with a fine sense of timing. His first motion picture,
"Operation Mad Ball," earned him rave reviews in 1957 for his
performance as an Army captain.
As a TV personality, he had reached the top over the last five
years. He often talked of slowing down but he showed little sign
of doing so.
His next television show, already taped, is scheduled to be
shown on the American Broadcasting Company network
Tuesday, Jan. 23. A spokesman said yesterday that the company
would decide this week whether to put it on as planned.
Less than two weeks ago, Mr. Kovacs announced that he
planned to become a Broadway director, staging a play, "Happy
Medium" and a musical, "Izzy and Moe."
He was born in Trenton, N.J., on Jan 23, 1919. His father,
Hungarian-born, was a tavern-keeper.
After he finished high school he attended the New York School of
Theatre and played in stock companies, running an improvised one
of his own.
In 1939 the strain of overwork brought him down with pneumonia
and pleurisy and put him in the hospital for nineteen months.
events at a local radio station. He also wrote stories, comedy
routines and acted.
He broke into television when he tried to sell a wrestling show to
WPTZ-TV in 1950. Characteristically, he was assigned to a
cooking show, which was no hardship because he was a gourmet with
the appetite of a gourmand.
In 1951 he came to New York to do his own television show
during the summer for the National Broadcasting Company. Since
then he has been on all networks in regular series and in specials.
He did long engagements on radio, too.
Mr. Kovacs was married to Miss Adams in 1954 in Mexico City.
They often appeared together on television.
---
Photos: Loading Image...
Loading Image...
Loading Image...
Loading Image...
(Edie Adams)
Ernie Kovacs in art:
Loading Image...
Photo:
Loading Image...
FROM: The New York Times (January 14th 1962) ~
By The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES, Calif., Jan. 13
Ernie Kovacs, comedian of the theatre, screen and
television, was killed today in a traffic accident. He
would have been 43 years old on Jan. 23.
The police said that Mr. Kovacs was killed when his
station wagon skidded across a wet pavement a half
block from the Beverly Hilton Hotel and smashed
into a power pole. The crash occurred shortly before
2 A.M. on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Los
Angeles.
Mr. Kovacs had attended a baby shower in honor of
the wife of Milton Berle, the comedian. Mr. Kovacs
and his wife, Edie Adams, actress and comedienne,
had left the party in separate cars.
Miss Adams, unaware that her husband had been in a
crash, drove on to their home in Bel Air. She learned
of her husband's death from Billy Wilder, the director,
who had been host for the party. She was given a
sedative and put to bed.
Miss Adams had gone to the party ahead of her
husband, friends said, because he had to work late.
When they left, he followed her in his car.
The coroner's office said that Mr. Kovacs had
probably died at the instant of impact, apparently of a
basal skull fracture.
Patrolman John Bettfreund, on traffic duty, told
newsmen it appeared that Mr. Kovacs "may have been
traveling faster than the posted limit in that area."
The impact was so great that the left side of the wagon
was caved in. One door on the passenger side had
been torn open.
Friends said that Mr. Kovacs had been his usual
happy-go-lucky self at the baby shower - attended by
about twenty persons.
Mr. Kovacs had been married twice. He had two
daughters, Betty, 15, and Kippie, 13, by his first wife.
In 1959, he had a daughter by Miss Adams.
Other survivors include his parents, Andrew and Mary
Kovacs, of Trenton, N.J., and a brother, Tom, also
of Trenton.
A funeral service will be held Monday.
_____________________
Ernie Kovacs had the sort of talent for which television
was invented.
He worked with equal ease and persistence in movies,
theatre, radio and writing. But he flowered on the nation's
television screens with his highly improbable and flammable
humor, the kind that used the camera as a prop and could
never be adequately described.
Despite his easy-going manner, Mr. Kovacs worked as
though some demon of comedy kept shouting, "You're on
the air!"
His mind whirred so busily with ideas so that even in
conversation a stray remark would prompt him to improvise
an outline for an entire skit on the spot.
One of the commonplace characterizations of the Kovacs
touch was "inspired." "Zany" was another. His humor
derived from ideas that did not have to be hammered home
by lengthy dialogue. For example an automobile racer eager
to drive through a flaming hoop could not get his car
started: a reader opens a copy of "Camille" and a woman is
heard coughing; a bass drummer is poised to play and his stick
melts into a kettle of sticky mush; water erupts into a room
from a picture of a dam hanging on the wall.
Such situations are typical of his giddy, almost impressionistic
wit.
The Nairobi Trio and Percy Dovetonsils were among his most
popular creations.
Did His Own Writing
On television and on radio Mr. Kovacs did all his own writing.
Recently he explained that "as soon as you hire four or five
writers, each man is trying to earn his salary."
"You end up," he said, "going in four or five directions at once."
Despite his affinity for hard and precise stagecraft, Mr. Kovacs
presented an affable and unhurried facade, devoid of the egoism
and insecurity that are often associated with comedians. A
creature of habit, he gave up chain-smoking cigarettes to start
chain-smoking cigars at the cost of about $200 a day.
Although he reached his heights in creativity, he was a polished
performer with a fine sense of timing. His first motion picture,
"Operation Mad Ball," earned him rave reviews in 1957 for his
performance as an Army captain.
As a TV personality, he had reached the top over the last five
years. He often talked of slowing down but he showed little sign
of doing so.
His next television show, already taped, is scheduled to be
shown on the American Broadcasting Company network
Tuesday, Jan. 23. A spokesman said yesterday that the company
would decide this week whether to put it on as planned.
Less than two weeks ago, Mr. Kovacs announced that he
planned to become a Broadway director, staging a play, "Happy
Medium" and a musical, "Izzy and Moe."
He was born in Trenton, N.J., on Jan 23, 1919. His father,
Hungarian-born, was a tavern-keeper.
After he finished high school he attended the New York School of
Theatre and played in stock companies, running an improvised one
of his own.
In 1939 the strain of overwork brought him down with pneumonia
and pleurisy and put him in the hospital for nineteen months.
From 1945 to 1950 Mr. Kovacs wrote a column for the Trentonian
in his home town, worked as a disk jockey and handled specialevents at a local radio station. He also wrote stories, comedy
routines and acted.
He broke into television when he tried to sell a wrestling show to
WPTZ-TV in 1950. Characteristically, he was assigned to a
cooking show, which was no hardship because he was a gourmet with
the appetite of a gourmand.
In 1951 he came to New York to do his own television show
during the summer for the National Broadcasting Company. Since
then he has been on all networks in regular series and in specials.
He did long engagements on radio, too.
Mr. Kovacs was married to Miss Adams in 1954 in Mexico City.
They often appeared together on television.
---
Photos: Loading Image...
Loading Image...
Loading Image...
Loading Image...
(Edie Adams)
Ernie Kovacs in art:
Loading Image...
